Spotify marks five years in Nigeria as local listening, discovery accelerate

23 Feb 2026 - 15:29

Published under the Creative Commons Licence

Data received from Spotify indicate that music consumption in Nigeria has expanded sharply since the streaming service launched in the country in February 2021. Over the five-year period to 2025, year-on-year listening grew at an average rate of 163.5%, driven by sustained increases following triple-digit gains in the platform’s early years.

Across the five-year period, Asake is one the most-streamed artists in Nigeria.

Genre data point to Afrobeats as the main engine of growth. Streams of Afrobeats in Nigeria increased by 5,022% between 2021 and 2025. Other genres also recorded significant gains over the same period, including amapiano (10,330%), Gospel and Praise music (5,499%), Hip-hop and Rap (3,020%), and R&B (2,602%), reflecting a broadening range of listening preferences among users.

Spotify’s figures also show rising engagement with music in indigenous Nigerian languages. Within Nigeria, listening to indigenous-language music rose by 554% in 2024 and a further 87% in 2025. Growth was also recorded outside the country, with global listening to Nigerian indigenous-language music increasing by 141% in 2024 and 41% in 2025, suggesting wider international reach for local-language releases.

Across the five-year period, the most-streamed artists in Nigeria were Asake, Wizkid, Seyi Vibez, Burna Boy, and Davido. Listener behaviour over the same period was reflected in repeated streaming of songs such as ‘Remember’, ‘Dealer’, ‘Awolowo’, ‘Kese (Dance)’, ‘Lonely At The Top’, ‘Joy is Coming’, ‘With You’, ‘Terminator’, ‘MMS’, and ‘Doha’.

The number of Nigerian artists with music available on Spotify increased by 158% between 2021 and 2025, according to the platform’s data. This growth suggests a steady expansion in the pool of local creators distributing music digitally to audiences inside and outside the country.

User activity has also increased substantially. Over five years, Nigerian listeners created more than 25 million user-generated playlists. In 2025 alone, total listening time in Nigeria exceeded 1.4 million play hours. Podcast consumption also rose during the period, with more than 59 billion total podcast hours streamed since the service’s launch in the country.

Spotify’s listener data further indicate that music discovery is widening as the catalogue grows. In recent months, the average Nigerian listener streamed music from around 150 different artists. The average listener age of 26 points to a predominantly young audience, with listening habits shaped by high levels of digital engagement and ongoing experimentation with new sounds.

Spotify